Senior Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, author of California Dreaming, appears on KFIV radio in Modesto. McQuillan discusses the man-made financial tsunami that is threatening California: the underfunded public employee pension system. The crisis threatens to bankrupt the state unless it reforms its pension system to a 401k-style contribution plan, that is common in the private sector. McQuillans plan will not effect current retirees, but would reform the system over decades to avoid a catastrophe.

Sr. Fellow Ivan Eland appears on America Tonight with Kate Delaney to talk about government spending out of control. Eland compares the US money supply and spending under George W. Bush and Barack Obama to eating candy and getting a "sugar high" instead of a good balanced diet. British Prime Minister David Cameron has followed the examples of US Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Eisenhower and Clinton and embraced austerity to bring about long term prosperity.

Senior Vice President Mary Theroux is interviewed on radio station KOGO in San Diego to talk about the latest on California's Maximum Family Grant rule for families on welfare. She discusses the underlying reasons why children are born into poverty and the difficulty of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Senior Fellow Ivan Eland, author of Partitioning for Peace, appeared on "Doug Stephan's Good Day" radio program. Eland talks about the state of terrorism in the Iraq and whether the US creates more of a problem with its intervention. He also discusses the question of how ISIS is different than other terror groups.

Independent Institute Senior Vice President Mary L. G. Theroux testified on "Childhood Poverty, Government Failures, and the Need for Economic Liberty", before the California State Senate's Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, at the request of State Senator Jeff Stone. The witnesses spoke about California's Maximum Family Grant rule for families on welfare. The rule caps grants and does not increase grant money to mothers on welfare when they have more children. Mary testified about the causes of poverty and of the need for other, non-government options for poor families. She introduced ideas for helping the poor through private resources and organizations, instead of government agencies where families and women often find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Independent Institute Senior Vice President Mary L. G. Theroux was a guest on KPCC radio to discuss California's effort to repeal the "maximum family grant" rule for welfare recipients with children. Families that have more children while on welfare do not receive an increase in their grant. This could be reversed by a new law proposed by Calif. State Senator Holly Mitchell, who was also a guest on the show.